Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings Ministers and officials in his Department held with stakeholders on the £4.3 million lost to fraudulent covid-19 claims; and who was in attendance at those meetings.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The £4.3 billion figure that has been widely reported is not a figure produced or recognised by HMRC or HMT. HM Treasury works closely with HMRC to ensure a robust approach to error and fraud within the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and Eat Out to Help Out, and the Government remains committed to cracking down on fraud wherever it arises.
Within the unprecedented £400 billion package of support, the Government put robust measures in place to control error and fraud in the key pandemic support schemes. By building automated controls into the digital claim process, HMRC prevented more than 100,000 ineligible or mistaken claims in these schemes. At the March 2021 Budget, the Government invested over £100 million in a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce. The taskforce is expected to recover £800 million to £1 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments over the next two years. This is in addition to the £536 million already recovered by HMRC in 2020-21. After this point, HMRC will continue to address fraud in the schemes through wider compliance activity.
The Government designed these schemes to prevent as much fraud as possible before any payments were made, while still supporting those who needed it as quickly as possible in unprecedented circumstances. As a result, the economy is back to pre-pandemic levels and growing at the fastest rate in the G7.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a breakdown of the £4.3 billion in fraudulent claims to coronavirus support schemes, by type of support scheme.
Answered by John Glen
No amount of error and fraud is acceptable, however, not all money lost to error and fraud will be recoverable. HMRC have said from the outset of the schemes that we would not be actively seeking out people who have made an honest mistake. Although of course if an error is identified, then HMRC will work with the claimant to put it right.
HMRC are also taking tough action to tackle fraudulent behaviour. Anyone who keeps grant money despite knowing they were not entitled to it, faces having to repay up to double the amount they received, plus interest and potentially criminal prosecution.
HMRC did not produce and do not recognise the figure of £4.3bn. HMRC’s latest estimate for the amount lost to both error and fraud in the schemes during 2020 to 2021 is 8.7% in CJRS, 2.5% in SEISS phases 1-3 and 8.5% in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. These estimates do not represent actual amounts lost.
This is HMRC’s current estimate of amounts potentially lost due to error or fraud during 2020/21 only, and these estimates will be updated as more data becomes available with the 2021/22 figures being finalised and released with the Annual Report and Accounts in the summer.
HMRC intend to publish updated E&F estimates for CJRS and SEISS in HMRC’s 2022 Annual Report and Accounts.
HMRC established the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce and is estimated to recover approximately £800m to £1bn in the two years to 2022/23, on top of the c.£500m recovered in 2020/21. HMRC will continue to address fraud and error in the schemes beyond the duration of the taskforce.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the names and businesses of all claims to coronavirus support schemes which have proven to be fraudulent.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has consistently stated that fraud is totally unacceptable. We are taking action on multiple fronts to recover money lost to error and fraud and, where necessary, taking legal action on those who have sought to exploit our schemes.
Where individuals are subject to prosecution as a result of fraudulently accessing the COVID-19 support schemes, the verdicts and sentencing in criminal cases are a matter of public record.
It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing investigations.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his timetable is for responding to the Access to Cash Consultation which closed on 1 July 2021.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, which is why it has committed to legislate to protect access to cash.
From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities.
The Government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities.
The Government is carefully considering responses to the consultation as it develops legislation. The Government will set out next steps in due course.
Following the Government’s commitment to legislate, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments at the end of last year and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for assessing the success of the Community Access to Cash Pilots.
Answered by John Glen
The Community Access to Cash Pilots was an industry-led initiative that took place in eight locations across the UK between December 2020 to October 2021. These pilots were conducted to trial and test sustainable solutions for ensuring that communities can conveniently withdraw and deposit cash and identify ways basic banking services can be better delivered. The Bank Hub pilots in Cambuslang and Rochford will continue until April 2023 and, following changes to the law and a successful pilot, industry plans to roll out cashback without a purchase to 2,000 shops by end of the year.
The Government welcomes industry efforts to develop solutions to support continued access to cash into the future and looks forward to the findings of these pilots. The Community Access to Cash Pilots Board aims to publish its full findings by the end of the year.
Alongside industry initiatives, the Government remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash for those who need it. The Government has recently undertaken an Access to Cash Consultation on further legislative proposals for ensuring the UK's cash system is sustainable for the long term. This included proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel reasonable distances to pay in or take out cash. The consultation closed on 23 of September, and the Government will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of the Union Jack flags purchased by his Department in each of the last two years were manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All Union flags purchased by the Treasury since January 2019 were manufactured in the UK.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which companies have supplied Union Jack flags to his Department since 2019.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All Union flags purchased by the Treasury since January 2019 were manufactured in the UK.